By Nathaniel Nartey
More than 30 houses close to the Dansoman beach have been destroyed by tidal waves as the sea continues to erode land on which a number of structures have been built.
This has resulted in fatal accidents with people including children losing their lives after the structures they slept in, collapsed on them.
According to the residents, lives have been lost in a similar fashion in recent times. Our reporter Nathaniel Nartey visited the Dansoman Beach at Gbegbeisee and reports that work on the Sea Defense project has stalled due to the break-down of machines.
Nathaniel Nartey paid a visit and reports that
At least three excavators were on site with a number of engineers busily working on the Dansoman Beach Sea Defense project in November 2019 and in May this year when GBC News visited.
On the third visit, it was evident that work had stalled as the only excavator on site looked rusty and was idle with the engine covered with a cloth, an indication that work had indeed stalled.
Project Manager, who spoke to GBC News off record said work had stalled because the excavator had broken down and is being repaired.
This was disputed by the residents who claim the Contractor was waiting for an extension of his contract which had expired.
‘’This machine has been idle for more than 3 weeks, if they were repairing it, you would see mechanics around, as you can see, there are no mechanics here working on the machine’’, they stated.
The slow pace of the Sea Defense Project appeared to be the least among concerns by residents, with a number of them vocal about the destruction of houses which were several meters away from the sea, a few weeks ago.
All the structures along the beach have either collapsed or have their foundations washed away as a result of the tidal waves, making them death traps for residents who live in them. This includes a mosque, which is now a few meters away from the sea.
A fisherman who lives in the area narrated to GBC News how three children lost their lives when the structure they slept in collapsed at dawn.
“The sea waves hit this structure at dawn and it collapsed, killing the three children sleeping in it. They were aged 5, 10 and 19”.
A Community Leader, Asafoatse Dun Klante was concerned about the spate at which the sea washed away land and structures at the exposing the Dansoman Beach road in danger of destruction by the sea.
“People have been rendered homeless while some have lost their lives because the sea keeps destroying our homes. This building which was far away from the sea shore is now just a few meters away. The authorities should stop playing politics with the project and complete it because lives are at stake’’.
The residents, mostly fishermen, were not observing the covid-19 protocols particularly, the wearing of nose masks. One of them explained,
“The nose mask is not responsible for the destruction of our homes. The sea is responsible. The government should complete the sea defense project before we decide to talk about the nose masks’’.
The residents said they have raised concerns many times, but yet to receive answers to the issues raised.